


7 years

by Bloodyloveletters



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Anniversary, Established Relationship, Fluff, Light-Hearted, M/M, married
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-30
Updated: 2017-01-30
Packaged: 2018-09-20 19:50:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9510356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bloodyloveletters/pseuds/Bloodyloveletters
Summary: Sherlock gives John a case to celebrate the anniversary of the night they met.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be in celebration of their special day, but it's a bit late since I only just finished.

“Happy Anniversary, John,” Sherlock murmured into the back of John's still sleeping neck.  
“Our anniversary is in June,” John groaned, rolling over and pressing his face into Sherlock's messy hair.  
“You know what I meant,”  
“Yes, of course I did love. Happy anniversary,” John kissed the top of his husband's head.  
Sherlock wrapped his legs around the shorter man's body, “So what are we gonna do today?”  
“This?” John suggested, running hands across Sherlock's chest, along his collar bones. Sherlock shrunk away from John's cold hands, pulling the covers up to cover all of their bodies, tucking it under his chin. With his head poking out of the dark quilt and his puppy dog eyes, he looked quite absurd.  
“I love you, you crazy man,” John laughed.  
“Good, because I love you as well,” Sherlock responded, continuing with a mischievous tone, “so you don't have anything planned?”  
“No, I don't,” looking expectantly at his clearly excited husband.  
“Well you do now. And you better get started,” Sherlock got out of bed and stood, waiting for John to follow. John slid his legs to the edge of the bed and sat there a moment.  
“I’ve never seen you get up this easily.”  
“I’ve been up for three hours already. Luckily you’re a heavy sleeper. Here is your first clue,” Sherlock handed John a sealed envelope.  
“Clue?” John said, taking the note but looking bemused.  
“You’ve got a case.”  
“I don’t have cases, you have cases.”  
“You have cases I give you. Now open your clue,” Sherlock said, beginning to sound whiney.  
Inside the envelope was a single piece of paper saying “1. Down”  
“Down?” John asked.  
Sherlock immediately dropped to his knees, fingers going to John’s boxers, “Well, if you say so.”  
John laughed, “Are all the clues like this?” with a pleased sigh.  
“Some of them,” Sherlock added before his mouth became too busy to say anything more.

John headed to the bathroom. After cleaning himself up, he looked in the mirror. On it, written in toothpaste, were the words “2. I love you”.  
“I love you too, darling. Is this my clue?” he shouted to Sherlock in the next room.  
“Yes, and you better get solving. There’s a deadline,” before entering the bathroom and reaching around John for his toothbrush, “Look what I found.” On the tube of toothpaste in Sherlock’s hand, there was a note saying “3. Newspaper”.  
“So each note leads to the next clue. Two was written in toothpaste, so three is on the toothpaste?” John turned to the man he loved with a broad smile on his face, “Rather proud of this, aren’t you?” but didn’t wait for a response before pulling him in for a deep kiss.  
“You probably ought to be writing these down, by the way. There’s,” Sherlock paused, counting on his fingers, “15 in total.”  
“Well this next one must mean my newspaper on the doorstep, but I’m going to get dressed before continuing,” John said, before heading back to their bedroom.

A few minutes later, John was making his way downstairs, Sherlock in giddy pursuit. As he approached the doorstep, he noticed a post it note stuck on his copy of the Guardian “4. Not your housekeeper”.  
“Is Mrs Hudson in on this? How long have you been planning this?” looking happily at the love of his life. This man never failed to make their lives together exciting, if sometimes dangerous.  
“Long enough,” said Sherlock looking pleased with himself again. John sighed and followed the instructions on his clue, heading to Mrs Hudson’s front door. She opened the door after a moment.  
“Hello dearies, Sherlock said you’d be down. Breakfast?”  
After just a few minutes of inane chatter about what they had planned for today and Mrs Hudson’s friend’s dog, a plate of eggs on toast appeared in front of John. Stuck in it was a tiny flag, with the words “5. Eggs”.  
“Where could this clue lead? I can see my eggs,” glancing at Sherlock and Mrs Hudson, both of whom just smiled.  
“Eat up, John,” said Sherlock, tucking into his eggs. John reached for the tomato sauce sat between them on the table, turning it upside down to shake onto his toast. A small note was stuck to the bottom, saying “6. Read”.  
“Am I really that predictable?”  
“No, you just like red sauce,” Sherlock chuckled between mouthfuls of toast, “Disgusting stuff,” he added, squeezing HP onto his own breakfast. The three of them ate happily and John opened his paper. He read a few articles before flicking to the adverts. Towards the bottom of the third column, he noticed a short advertisement simply saying “Which song did we have our first dance to? - SH”  
“That was fast,” commented Sherlock with a smile, “I must be rubbing off on you.”  
John just raised his eyebrow and continued his food. After another cup of tea, and a pleasant morning with Mrs Hudson, they returned to the flat.

“At last, Etta James,” John said once they entered the flat. Sherlock just hummed happily. John walked over to the stack of CDs he still kept on the shelf next to the mantel. He took out his copy of the song he kept for sentimental reasons. Instead of the single, there was a burned CD with “7. @ last” written across it. When put into his laptop, a pop up message also appeared on screen. “8. The number of years I’ve been in love with you”. John smiled and as the beautiful song began to play, Sherlock pulled him to his feet and wrapped his arms around him.  
“Seven. I have loved you for seven, long years,” they danced slowly, and just as John felt he could live in this moment, the song came to an end. He felt Sherlock’s hand snake down his body to his back pocket.  
“Well, John. I have places to be, but I’m confident you can solve the rest on your own.” he gave John a quick kiss on the lips and walked towards the door, “see you later.”  
John just looked flabbergasted as Sherlock hurtled down the stairs and out into the street. Feeling in his right pocket, he found the clue Sherlock had left there. “9. Aftershave”

Sure enough, a new bottle of his preferred aftershave sat on the dresser. Attached, another clue - “10. New”. This one was going to be trickier. New. New new new. What was new about the flat? He looked about their bedroom. Nothing was new there. In fact, practically the only thing that had changed since John had begun sleeping there was the sheets. He moved into the kitchen. New. It wasn’t until he noticed that almost nothing about the flat they shared had changed in years. He sat down at the kitchen table but only for a fraction of a second. Microscope. Sherlock had bought a new lens for it just last week. He got up and looked through it, focusing on the scrap of paper left there. Somehow, Sherlock had managed to write “11. Gone” in tiny dots of ink. John looked away and shook his head. How much work must’ve he put into preparing all this. Not for the first time today he thought how much he loved that man. 

Next clue. Gone. Something was gone. He looked around the room. Just as nothing had been new, nothing was gone either. Everything was as usual. Except Sherlock, he was gone. A moment of inspiration struck John and he hurried down the stairs, caught up in the game Sherlock laid for him. He was unsurprised to find Sherlock’s coat and scarf missing, and post it note stuck to the wall beneath the hook they hung off. “12. Eat (but don't fill up)”. He went back up to the kitchen, opened the fridge but nothing was there. Nor was there anything on any of the counters, but after a moment of looking about the room he spotted a fun sized Mars bar stabbed to their mantelpiece in true Sherlock fashion. John couldn't help but smile. He was getting rather proud of the speed he was solving these riddles left by his lover. He walked over to it read the new clue - “13. Left” Instinctively, John glanced to his left, but he just saw the kitchen he'd been looking at all morning. That would've been too easy. Sherlock was a little better than that. John took the Mars bar and opened the packet, eating away. He started looking to the left of everything. The left drawers, the left of the microwave, even in the leftover spag bol in the fridge. 

He was really stuck on this one, and spent most of the afternoon on it. In the end he made a cup of tea, and sat down, but almost the second he did, he had a thought. My left pocket. Reaching in, he was pleased to see another note in Sherlock’s simple block letters. "14. Old and unused". Everything in the flat was old, so John was grateful of the addition of “unused”. But what did they own that wasn't of use? A few sentimental objects, but that didn't feel right. Of course, there was one place that was almost never used anymore. John stood and, drinking more of his tea, walked up the stairs again to his bedroom. His bed was still there and although Greg had stayed there once when he got a little too drunk at a party, John certainly never slept there. Old and unused, it fit. Opening the door, he knew immediately he'd been right. Sat on John's bed was a long piece of paper with a marker pen next to it. Down one side, Sherlock had written the numbers 1-15, the last two lines reading “15. Solve”, then -SH. So this was the final clue. Writing in the clues, he examined his work.

1\. Down  
2\. I love you  
3\. Newspaper  
4\. Not your Housekeeper  
5\. Eggs  
6\. Read  
7\. @ last  
8\. 7  
9\. Aftershave  
10\. New  
11\. Gone  
12\. Eat (but don't fill up)  
13\. Left  
14\. Old and unused  
15\. Solve  
\- SH

He saw it almost immediately and laughed. Sherlock claimed John was predictable but he had nothing on his husband. Reading the first letters of each of the clues, he solved Sherlock’s case.

***

John showered, put on Sherlock's favourite shirt of his the other man had ironed, clearly with the hope John would wear it tonight. He put on his new aftershave, took the gift he'd bought for Sherlock out the drawer and left Baker Street.

He was unsurprised when he arrived at Angelo's to find Sherlock was already sat at the table they'd shared on their first case.  
“Angelo's isn't open on a Sunday, Sherlock,” said John with a smile as he sat opposite the man he loved.  
“It is for me,” Sherlock replied, grinning back.  
“You know, you can just tell me you've booked a restaurant, no need for an elaborate mystery.”  
“Where would the fun be in that?”  
John continued, not responding to Sherlock's question, “And besides, it was far too easy.”  
“I'll have to try harder next time” and he winked.  
John picked up the filled wine glass in front of him, and Sherlock followed his lead.  
“To 7 years,” he said simply  
“To forever more" his husband replied.  
They drank and ate and laughed that night.  
And didn't stop for the rest of their lives.

**Author's Note:**

> I live for your comments  
> Follow me on [tumblr](https://quietasfolk.tumblr.com/)


End file.
